STOCKMARKET USED BY ORGANIZED CRIME

Along with using casinos as a money laundering tool, drug lords and other
criminals are believed to be using the stock market for their illicit
activities. According to Quebec Securities Commission president Pierre
Godin, even if activities go through legal corporations, the enormous
benefits to their shareholders come at the price of laundering money from
the drug trade and organized crime.

In an effort to find a solution to the growing problem, twenty countries
will to sign information exchange agreements in the near future. Meanwhile,
over the next few weeks, Quebec1s Minister of Finance Yves Seguin is
expected to implement a special financial crimes unit. The squad would be
composed of a mixture of Surete du Quebec inspectors, Revenue Quebec
auditors and Securities Commission personnel.

According to Seguin, the new squad could recover up to one billion dollars.
The RCMP has also announced that it would create its own financial crime
investigating unit to fight the problem.